FROM THE CMEA Board of Directors

CMEA Conference Planning 2026

Timeline for Call for Proposals- Honor Performing Groups- Honor Awards Timeline

Call for Proposals for Conference Presentations

• Proposal form opens on Thursday, May 1, 2025

• Form closes on Saturday, May 31, 2025

• Proposals considered at the State Assembly meeting on June 7, 2025

• Proposals finalized by June 20, 2025

• Presenters notified by Margie Camp of acceptance by July 1, 2025

Call for submissions- Conference Honor Performing Groups

• Submission form opens on Thursday, May 1, 2025

• Form closes on Saturday, May 25, 2025

• Groups selected on June 6, 2025

• CMEA President notifies those groups selected by June 20, 2025

CMEA Honor Award Nominations

• Submission form opens on Friday, August 1, 2025

• Forms close on Friday, October 3, 2025

Directors are reminded to review the "Eligibility to Perform for the 2026 Conference and Beyond."

Good Enough Just Isn't

Casey Cropp, CMEA President

One day, during a particularly intense rehearsal, one of my flute students asked why I kept rehearsing a musical passage over and over. My response was that it wasn’t good enough. Her next statement was so striking that I will never forget it! With a wrinkled expression on her face, she replied, “I think you should just say, Good Enough Just Isn’t.” I’ve often pondered what she said that day as incredibly insightful.

Recently, as I have had the opportunity to be a clinician at festivals, I’ve been told to consider evaluating ensembles that play everything listed on the music well as a level 2 rating. The rationale is that a computer can do that, however it doesn’t address the musicality and emotional impact of an outstanding performance. I believe that to be a very accurate statement as well!

All this has me thinking: do we have an expectation of inspiring our students to go beyond performing just what they see on a page? Isn’t it our goal to develop musicality? Beauty of melodic line? Understanding of our role in harmonic support? In a passage of a Tim Lautzenheiser book that I’m presently re-reading, he writes,

“Humans, by nature, enjoy comfort. In addition to that, we are creatures of habit, and we find ourselves repeating behaviors simply for the sake of fulfilling the requirements of life; in a sense, we do what we do to maintain the status quo or to get to the point of “it’s good enough.”



This “good enough” thought process has seemingly been at the back of my mind forever…

What brought it to my head now was that I just heard someone I respect greatly make the comment, “We as individuals are too easily pleased!” It put that memory from my flute student right back in the front of my brain…

And it made me realize why some performances are okay to good, and others go way beyond expectations.

Could it be that as you begin to wrap up another year - as contests, festivals, final performances, and end-of-year projects are all shaping up, are you holding your students and ensembles to the standards and levels that are going to help them continue their growth for the rest of their lives? Or might you be in the cool-down stage, trying to make it until the end?

I hope the fire continues to burn brightly! Those who look up to you every day deserve all you can give them up to the final bell!! Finish stronger than ever!

Casey

Instrumental Council

Chuck Stephen, Chair

Greetings to you all, and I hope you are having a great semester as we approach the end of the school year. Thanks to everyone who attended the Clinic/Conference in January! It was a pleasure to see a record number of teachers sharing in the friendship, inspiration, and rejuvenation that the conference provides. If you were unable to attend this year, I hope that you are planning to join us next year, January 28-31, 2026.

Congratulations to all of the honor performing ensembles this year. It was inspiring to witness the culmination of the hard work and preparation that the students and directors put into their performances. I encourage every CMEA member to consider submitting an audition to perform at the 2026 clinic/conference. Remember you are doing amazing work with your students, and each of us have something unique and valuable to share with colleagues around the state. The Instrumental Council is committed to celebrating the musical accomplishments of every CMEA District. It is our hope to see representation of groups of all types and all sizes from every region in Colorado. We need your participation to make that happen. Please consider applying and encourage your colleagues in your district to do the same.  

If you are not considering an application to perform at CMEA, please consider presenting a clinic or encouraging a colleague to present. Nearly all clinics presented at the conference are by Colorado music educators! There is a vast amount of expertise across all of our districts, and our community grows stronger when we share our experiences with each other.

I would like to congratulate our newly elected council members:

• District 1 Representative Darren Delaup
• District 3 Representative Aaron Herman
• District 5 Representative Kaelinn Ward
• District 7 Representative Andrew Bruington

I especially want to thank Tim Libby for his outstanding service and leadership to the Instrumental Council and CMEA these past four years. We are grateful for the time and energy he devoted to our organization.  

Sincerely,

Chuck Stephen

Instrumental Music Council Chair

Planning is the Key

Paul Maley, GMC Chair

Quality planning is the key to fun and success in the classroom!  Every year, I find myself focusing on more efficient planning. We all know the feeling of having that lesson that flows so perfectly. Time flies by super fast, and the kids can’t believe it’s over in the end.   All of this can’t happen without great plans. 

The most straightforward way to lay it out is to play to the children’s strengths.   I always make sure to vary activities. For example, we start with singing, then we play a game, then we write notes on the whiteboard, then we play xylophones, and then we end with some movement.  The variation keeps the students interested.  This may seem very basic, but planning can be that simple and effective. 

I highly recommend diving into the idea of Kodály’s Prepare / Present / Practice if you are struggling with structure in your planning.  It outlines such a simple way to scaffold concepts and simplifies planning. Once I put in my concept sections of my lesson plan, I then focus on putting the pieces in between that will guide them through the class journey while having a great time. Enjoyment grows engagement and engagement builds buy - in, which is a necessity to accomplish the highest levels of learning truly.  

If you have some great planning tips, go onto the GMC Facebook page and post them for everyone to share!!  

Good luck on a great end to your school year!!

Paul Maley

General Music Council Chair

Process to Order Music Awards

The Colorado Music Educators Association is proud to partner with Western Awards and Recognition for the purchase of All-State Medals and Perpetual Plaques, CHSSA Large Festival Plaques, CMEA Conference Honor Performing Group Medals and Patches, and Solo and Ensemble Medals. Click on the link below to obtain an order form and either email or mail this Western Awards and Recognition. Western Awards and Recognition can also be reached at (303)-699-5691 or through email at westernawards@comcast.net .

Click HERE to download the awards order form.